Shintaro's Answer
by jtnlflash
Summary: Shintaro goes off somewhere one day and takes Ene along. As she tries to figure out where they are going, he begins thinking about his time with Ayano. A one-shot about how a content Shintaro looks back at the two selfish girls who threw him into a daze.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or the series at all. This fanfic was written because I love Kagerou Project.**

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He woke up early that day. For somebody who had only three hours of sleep after having to piggyback his younger sister home (ok, so he had a little help from a certain albino robot), he had put in the effort to wake up on his own.

"Hey, Master. You're up already? Wow, is the world going to end? Are pigs flying outside right now?"

The little digital girl on his computer screen, Ene, spoke to him in her teasing tone, but he ignored her and simply grabbed his clothes to get dressed. Although sluggish, he began to take off his sleepwear.

"Kyaa~! Getting undressed in front of a lady?! I should take a picture of this for future use!"

"Would that be private use?" he opened his mouth to talk.

It was then that Ene stopped. Her "master" had said something completely unexpected. Covering her mouth with her long sleeves, the digital girl's face flushed red with color. It was only for a brief moment, and Ene was glad Shintaro wasn't looking at the monitor. When she was able to calm down, she spoke again, raising the volume on the computer speakers to amplify her voice.

"Ahahahahaha~! What are you talking about, Master? I just thought I'd use it for blackmail… Maybe send it to Kano or something."

"Do whatever you want. Just upload yourself to my phone already," Shintaro dismissed Ene's suggestion as he reached for the red and white jersey he had now become accustomed to wearing.

Again, Ene was surprised. She hadn't actually used the webcam to take a photo, but Shintaro was behaving far differently than he usually did. He had retorted one of her jokes cleverly for one thing. Curious as to why he was acting strange, she obeyed his request.

The transfer was quick and simple. Ene's "Master" picked up the phone and slipped it into his pocket, plugging in his ear buds so he was able to hear her as they walked out of the NEET's dark room.

"You don't usually go out, Master. Even with the Mekakushi Dan, it's the little sister who always drags you out of your room. For you to be leaving this morni- Ah! It couldn't be: a doppelganger? An imposter? Oh no! Am I being kidnapped?!"

"What kind of kidnapper would take an enigmatic program like you?"

"Ah, you responded."

The sudden retort from "Master" was enough for Ene to quiet down. She watched through the phone's camera which was peeked just slightly out from Shintaro's pocket. He was slowly making his way around the house, not making a single sound.

"Munya~! Mary-chan… I can't eat any…more…"

"It looks like the little sister isn't awake yet. Well, it is Sunday, so she doesn't have school," Ene's comments were heard only through Shintaro's earphones. She knew he was trying to be quiet, but the atmosphere was so awkward, the digitized girl was hoping for some small talk. "Master?"

Shintaro was busying writing on a sheet of paper, not even acknowledging that he had walked past his little sister's room. "… Gone out. Back later. Shintaro."

The NEET in the red jersey placed the note on the kitchen counter and walked over to the refrigerator. From it, he took out a can of soda. He pulled the tab and took a big gulp of the carbonated liquid. From what Ene could determine, his mind was elsewhere.

When the soda can was finally empty was the moment Shintaro stepped out of his house.

"I'm leaving," he said to nobody in particular. With that, he walked off silently.

Trying her best to hide her discomfort with the strangely serious Shintaro, Ene broke the silence with as much energy as she could muster, "Where are we going, Master? Did you want to buy the next issue of that manga you were reading? Oh! Could it be you're having a secret rendezvous with a lover? Kyaa! How could you?! You have me, don't… you…?!"

The electronic girl found herself mildly embarrassed when her jokes were ignored. Had Shintaro looked at the screen of his phone, he would have found her pouting. She wasn't able to decide where to go because she was just a program on his phone. If he wasn't listening, she couldn't do anything like blackmail him either. A few more minutes passed, and it wasn't long before Ene's patience had worn thin.

"Master! Where are we going? You're acting so weird today! Can't you be a little more talkative? You normally talk back to me, don't you? Are the headphones broken or someth- Why are we at a school?"

Ene realized from using the camera on the phone that Shintaro had walked all the way to a school, a very familiar school at that. It was a high school. The gates were closed, as was expected for a Sunday.

"Such a pain," Shintaro sighed.

"Eh? No way!" Ene went with the first assumption she could make. "Master, are you going to climb over the fence? That's so unlike you! I mean, you can't even handle a roller coaster! To be so daring as to break into a school when you're a NEET… Kyaa~!"

"What are you talking about?" the Kisaragi boy adjusted his headphones before he asked Ene. He had simply climbed through a dented region in the gate that was big enough for a person to step through.

"Eh? Seriously?"

Shintaro walked inside without a hint of tension. He did not seem worried about getting caught for trespassing. His eyes half-lidded, he walked to the entrance of the school building with an ever apathetic expression.

"Hey Master! Why are we in this school? You used to go here? Oh! Are you grabbing something you forgot to take home when you became a NEET? Is it one of those dirty magazines?"

"You're asking too many questions, Ene," the Kisaragi boy said with a sigh as he walked up the stairs of the empty school building.

"The roof?" Ene had realized it the moment Shintaro opened the door at the end of the staircase. A gust of wind greeted Shintaro as he stepped onto the school rooftop. Despite that, the boy did not blink. He walked slowly toward the edge of the roof. With each step, his pace grew faster. Ene was unsure of what her "Master" was doing, but from her view, it looked like he was being pulled by some strange force.

Shintaro's hand rested on the bars of the rooftop, the cold, steel bars that were built to prevent people from falling off. They were cold to the touch, smooth yet rustic in appearance.

"Ayano…"

Ene heard a whisper. The voice of her "Master" had been muffled by the wind. She was about to ask Shintaro to repeat what he had said, but was beaten to the punch when the Kisaragi boy took his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the pixilated program that was Ene, and Ene looked back at him.

There was a painful expression on his face, one that possessed many complex feelings. To Ene, it was a rare sight. Shintaro, who normally only showed her expressions of apathy or anger, had an expression she was not used to. There was a hint of sadness, but at the same time, a soft hint of… was it joy? Nostalgia? She couldn't place it.

"Master?"

"Ene."

The way he called her surprised Ene. His voice was bold and straight forward. She found herself stuttering through the phone speaker. "Y-yes?"

Shintaro shifted his gaze toward the clouds. The sun was climbing the skies. The heat and light would soon reach them. The weather was nostalgic. It reminded him of that day.

"It's nothing."

Nothing? Ene snapped upon hearing those words. She raised the volume as high as she could on her phone.

"What? You dragged me all the way here and ignored me this whole time! A shut-in like you actually left your house on your own and broke into a school! You want to tell me 'It's nothing' after all of that? I'm going to blast the loudest alarm I can at you!"

Shintaro took off his earphones just in time to escape the destructive emergency siren that would have burst his eardrums had he not.

"A program like you is a real hassle," he groaned. He unplugged the ear buds from his phone so that Ene could speak using the phone speakers.

"You're the hassle, you NEET!"

Shintaro couldn't help but think about the past as he ignored Ene's complaints to the best of his ability. For some reason, he felt as though he heard similar retorts from somebody long ago when he was a student. Well, he had come all the way to his old school to recall his school life, so the feeling wasn't unheard of.

Years prior, somebody close to him jumped from the very spot he was standing. She died for a reason which never reached his ears. That girl, Ayano… It was now the anniversary of her death. Kido, Kano, and Seto all said that they wouldn't be meeting that Sunday. Hearing that, he was a little glad. It was his motivation to go in the first place. It gave him to chance to visit Ayano on his own.

Ayano was a ridiculous girl, his mouth twitched at the memory. She would always smile and laugh no matter what she did. Whenever she did badly in class, she would call herself stupid and fold her failed exams into a paper crane. When he pushed her away, she would grab his hand and drag him around. Whether he agreed to it or not, it didn't matter to her. She was a selfish and annoying girl…

…but he wouldn't forget her. No, he couldn't forget her.

Acting almost without thinking, Shintaro reached into his jersey pocket and took out a folded crane. He could see a red mark on it with a "100" written on. Gently, he placed it on the ground of the roof top. It did not matter if the wind blew it away or not. It was something he simply wanted to place there. He had brought it along for her. For the selfish girl who dragged him along all the time and died with a smile on her face, he wanted her to know that she would always be remembered, that she would always be loved.

"Master, you're not listening to me, are you?" the twin-tailed digital program was more than a little angry. "You really want me to send your private folder out to the internet, huh?"

Now Shintaro had another selfish girl to contend with. He hoped Ayano would understand that. After recalling the memories of that lost time, Shintaro found Ene's threats refreshing despite the danger towards his dignity… Wait…

"H-Hey, you weren't so serious about that earlier!"

"Eeeeeh?" Ene's dry tone was not that of a question. She was annoyed, incredibly so. Her expression on the screen was a mix of cynicism, annoyance, and disbelief. "So you're actually listening now?"

"Of course!"

"Really?" the blue, twin-tailed girl looked at Shintaro with a soulless gaze. "Well, maybe I won't post Master's secret folder online. Maybe, just maybe, I won't."

She really wanted to. The NEET could see that much. Ene was angry, and it wasn't anyone else's fault but his.

"I'll explain! I'll tell you everything. Just don't send the file!"

"Does Master really want this online? It sure sounds like that. I guess it can't be helped…"

"I-I'll take you to the arcade. You wanted to go since the shooter game at the amusement park, right? Right?" Shintaro threw out another bargaining chip, one which he hoped his digital blackmailer would approve of.

"The arcade?"

"Yes. We can play all day. I promise."

"Promise?"

"Yes. Yes!"

"… Alright," Ene let go of the Shintaro's private folder and crossed her arms. The little pixilated image of her on the screen was pouting, obviously still simmering over Shintaro.

For now, Shintaro's files were safe. A breath of relief escaped the NEET and a small smile formed on his face. He would have to tell Ene about Ayano, but he was prepared to do so from the beginning. It was why he had Ene come along. Really, compared to Ayano, Ene was a lot worse.

Ayano was always worried about him in the past, which was why she always dragged him along. Despite her own hidden tears, she had wanted to show him what she thought a genius like him was unable to see: happiness. Be it making friends or falling in love or spending the days idly together, Ayano wanted him to be happy. That idiotic girl wanted everyone to be happy. It was an ideal too ridiculous to listen to, and he was pulled along to all sorts of troublesome events because of her beliefs.

Ene on the other hand was a devil of a program. She pulled pranks on him whenever she could, blackmailed him, and threatened him so he would do whatever she wanted. The tension and excitement he felt whenever Ene started acting up made his heart rate spike in panic. Every day was a living hell when he had to deal with her.

… But in the end, Shintaro was glad he had met them both. The excitement eased his boredom. He may have complained to the two of them, but their selfishness had pulled him through the days. A loner genius and a shut-in of a NEET were both pulled out of their comfort zone by a selfish girl.

The true reason why Shintaro came to the school campus he had left long ago wasn't simply because it was Ayano's death-day anniversary. He hadn't gone the previous years, but he now he had. It was because he had changed, or at least, he believed he had. His sister, the entire Mekakushi Dan, and Ene were now all with him.

Their reckless actions together had brought Shintaro out into the world again, Ene especially. He didn't want to admit it, but if she weren't around, he probably would have fallen into a depression long before he met the others. So Shintaro came to show Ayano the partnership he had with Ene. Sure, he was being blackmailed and pulled around by an eccentric blue virus, but he was no longer obsessing over the past. It couldn't be changed after all. Knowing this, Shintaro had arrived at his own answer for happiness.

He would keep going forward, with Ene and everyone else. No matter where they decided to drag him, their futures were waiting. He only hoped Ayano would watch over them, all of them.

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_I thought I'd make Ene act a little more tsundere since I saw the Yuukei Yesterday PV. Shintaro was a little too pensive here, but I think his relationship with Ayano would create that sort of behavior in a person. Just my musings. ~Richi_


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